5.1-Magnitude Quake Strikes La Habra An Hour After Smaller Temblor

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LA HABRA (CBSLA.com) — A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck La Habra Friday night more than an hour after a smaller quake shook the area, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The temblor, which had a depth of 4.6 miles, hit at 9:09 p.m.

The epicenter was 1 mile east of La Habra, 1 mile west-northwest of Brea, 3 miles south-southwest of Rowland Heights and 4 miles north of Fullerton.

Initially reported to be a magnitude-5.3, the quake was felt in Kern, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego and Los Angeles counties. There were no reports of any injuries.

About 40 aftershocks hit the Southland, including a 3.4-magnitude quake at 9:11 p.m. and a magnitude-3.6 at 9:30 p.m.

“This earthquake is relatively close to the 2008 Chino Hills earthquake that was magnitude-5.4 that occurred about 5 miles to the southeast of this earthquake,” Caltech’s Robert Graves said.

Graves added, “As far as specifics on the fault, we don’t have definitive information. There are several active faults in that region that have been mapped. If we don’t have a rupture that breaks right up to the surface, it takes a bit of time to do that investigation.”

Caltech’s Lucy Jones said the fault that caused the quake was close to the Puente Hills thrust (fault) that was responsible for the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake.

“There is no definitive information on the fault,” Jones said. “There are several active faults in that region that have been mapped.”

Jones said Friday’s quake was 10 times larger than the March 17 magnitude-4.4 quake near Encino. She added that every quake has a chance of leading to something bigger.

“Every earthquake has a 5 percent chance of being followed by something larger. The fact that this had a foreshock doesn’t particularly increase that probability,” she said.

Following the quake, the Red Cross of Orange County opened a shelter, located at 101 W. La Habra Boulevard, to assist evacuated La Habra residents.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department received reports of gas leaks in Rowland Heights. La Habra, as well as other areas, had some power outages.

UPDATE: Currently about 2,000 customers are without power following #LAQuake. Our crews are working quickly and safely to restore power.

At least six water main breaks, along with gas leaks, were reported in Fullerton after the tremor. Two structures had some major structural damage, Sky9’s Stu Mundel reported.

The Brea Fire Department reports that Carbon Canyon Road is closed between Olinda Drive and Ruby Street due to rock slides.

Disneyland rides were shut down as a precaution.

The L.A. Fire Department did not receive any immediate reports of damage.

“We expect for an earthquake of this size to have some minor damage. We’ve had some reports of some things that have fallen off shelves and so forth,” Graves said.

Late Friday night, Mayor Eric Garcetti released a statement, which said, “Tonight’s earthquake is the second in two weeks, and reminds us to be prepared. L.A. residents can visit readyla.org for guidance on how to best prepare for the next earthquake, including potential aftershocks. The Los Angeles police and fire departments have conducted an assessment and report no damage in the city.”

KCAL9’s Juan Fernandez spoke with the owners of a liquor store in La Habra.

They said they both ran outside as roof tiles came down.

“When it happened, I ran outside of the store. That moment I just stood outside. I got panicked. When I came inside, everything fell off the shelf. All the liquor and wine bottles fell out,” Tina said.

Guests at the Embassy Suites in Fullerton were evacuated for two hours after the quake.

“It was ‘wham.’ It really slammed us. The light next to me fell over. The room started creaking a lot. We all went to the atrium. It felt like the room was twisting. You could hear pieces of corners coming together, a crunching sound. It wasn’t good. This is big,” John Highland said.